PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
BY THE GROUP OFFICER-IN-CHARGE & COO
dr. rishi sookdawoor
On behalf of the NIC General Insurance Co. Ltd (“NIC General”), I am honoured to present our business and financial performances for the year ended 30 June 2022. The financial year 2021-2022 has been undeniably special for NIC General, marking the stabilisation of the operations post Covid, and its readiness to embrace a new phase of its development with a thorough review of our underwriting practice and risk management approach, internal business processes and the successful implementation of the first phase of the state-of-the-art technological system geared towards the demands of our clients for a smooth and hassle-free self-service. The aftermath of the pandemic effects has revealed a gradual and prudent recovery of our clients and the economy at large, putting pressure on stronger and more comprehensive insurance coverage and protection. Coupled with this, NIC General had to deal with the adverse effects of the rising inflation on claim expenses such as price charged for medical services under healthcare insurance and the cost of spare parts and repairs under motor insurance that have rose considerably by around 15-20%.
Amidst the shadow of climatic change impact fluttering on the range of insured perils, these various factors are challenging the outlook and approach to business acceptance, underwriting and risk management altogether, with on one hand, a strong pressure towards business retention and on another hand, the need to widely innovate. The economic and market conditions largely influenced by external and uncontrolled factors entails that NIC General must be prepared to face and steer through this chain of continual change at all times.
“Within this challenging market landscape, our people stood united and strong as a team to fulfil our overarching commitment of putting our clients first.”
financial performance and operational insights
We are well set to gradually steer NIC General in becoming a prominent player on the General Insurance map. With the relentless effort of every member of our workforce, I am proud to announce the following noteworthy results of NIC General for the benefit of our stakeholders:
TOTAL REVENUE MUR 384.7 m
Total revenue grew to reach MUR 384.7 million (MUR 369.4 million in 2021)
PROFIT FOR THE YEAR MUR 27.2 m
Profit for the year registered an important growth to reach MUR 27.2 million
INFORCE POLICIES 12,945 policies
The portfolio of inforce policies grew by over 1,300 policies during the year to reach 12,945 policies
GROSS PREMIUM MUR 360.4 m
Gross premium for the year stood at MUR 360.4 million (MUR 351.8 million in 2021)
INVESTMENT INCOME Growth of 25.4%
Investment income registered a growth of 25.4% compared to last year
OPERATING EXPENSES MUR 70.2 m
The expense ratio for the reporting period stood at 19.5%
CLAIMS PAID MUR 320.3 m
Claims paid to policyholders stood at MUR 320.3 million an increase of nearly 33.8% over last year
financial POSITION
NIC General further consolidated and strengthened its balance sheet
TOTAL ASSETS MUR 597.1 m
Total assets grew by MUR 18.1 million over last year to reach MUR 597.1 million
SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY MUR 252.6 m
An improvement in shareholder’s equity from MUR 214.8 m (2021) to MUR 252.6 m (2022)
SOLVENCY Growth of 36.6%
A growth in the solvency position of the Company with a 36.6% increase in the solvency margin and Minimum Capital Requirements (MCR) ratio reaching 310% as at 30 June 2022
TECHNOLOGY AND OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
The year marked an important turning point in our technological strategy with the start of a comprehensive overhauling of our ICT infrastructure and the implementation of our enterprise and scalable Data Centre to support our future business expansion and automation strategies whilst laying stronger foundation of business continuity. This critical project is fully underway and the transition is set to take place in beginning 2023. They set the tone for further developments on this front: implementation of the IFRS 17 accounting standard, embracement of web-enabled applications across various processes, including an online quotation system and portal for our clients, enhancement of legacy systems and digital transformation within an InsureTech era altogether.
Furthermore, the first phase of the digital transformation was successfully executed with the roll out of the new integrated and innovative General Insurance system. We are now set to enter the final stages of the phase two of this enterprise innovation journey with the deployment of a state-of-art health insurance platform in the months to come that will empower our operations to better serve our clients and provide them with self-service capabilities through digitally-enabled platforms whenever and wherever required. As part of our eco-attitude strategy, e-policies and electronic communication are being favoured and in continuity to practices established within the pandemic and lock-down days which rendered the new business and claims processes more efficient and swift. We continued to gather client feedback from our front desk operations and pursued the assessment (and adjustment) of our internal processes and operational approaches in a bid to further improve both their efficiency and effectiveness in serving our clients.
SERVICE PARTNERS AND DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
We recognise the collaborative efforts of our service partners and distribution channels within our operating eco-system and we continually pursued our endeavours to nurturing relationships and building our network of strong partners on which rests our B2B positioning.
NIC General is a strong player in the healthcare insurance sector and works closely with the private clinics, a chain of optical providers, various large corporates and SMEs both directly and through broker alliances.
NIC General is also strengthening its links with the requisite standards of garages, repair centres and car rental agencies for improved service and experience to our clients.
NIC General has furthermore consolidated the range of its reinsurance backing to support its broader go-to-market strategies
INVESTMENT IN HUMAN CAPITAL
With the completion of an important phase of the Restructuring Plan, we embarked in a steady re-shaping of our manpower structure and talent pool with the design of a roadmap to further enhance their technical capabilities. In the next financial period, additional focus will be on the implementation of professional and leadership development and additional technical competencies for our young talents. In this endeavour, over 250 members of the salesforce have attended thorough technical training on the diverse range of General Insurance suite of products and particularly on the healthcare, motor, property and liability insurance lines to better equip them in properly advising our clients in this ever changing business landscape. In its endeavour to expand its operational capability, NIC General has also embarked in a prudent but thorough review of its manpower requirements, offered employment to industry professionals, and set up a boot camp for a dozen of youngsters to assist the operations whilst supporting them in gaining exposure and growing their career.
SUSTAINABILITY AND STRATEGY
As we wrap up the foundation works on our refreshed corporate and brand positioning and a thorough review of our product features and their accompanying terms and conditions, we are set to embrace the forthcoming period on a new footing, with broader and innovative offerings, geared to provide access to a larger segment of the population to Insure, Protect and Empower them throughout their lives.
We demonstrated understanding and flexibility by promptly adjusting our healthcare insurance plans to include coverage for COVID-19 screening tests and hospitalisation. Along the same lines, we seek to adapt to the ageing profile of the population demography and opening up our healthcare insurance plans to support the elderly.
2022-2023 will come with its own set of specificities and challenges but our confidence is as strong as it has ever been to steer our strategy forward and help our clients progress in their businesses and lives with peace of mind. Our strategy is to be forward-looking, be profoundly human and fair in our approach. We also look forward to strengthen and grow our existing lines of business, diversify and operate smartly. These entrenched practices, core to our organisational DNA, help us steer serenely through the present and future challenges such as the impact of climate change on insured perils, the presentation of financial statements under IFRS 17 standard, changing legislation whether regarding AML-CFT requirements or new obligations conferred onto us in respect of evolving employee and workforce rights.
As we march into 2022-2023 financial year, I would like to thank all our team members of NIC General. Their hard work, dedication, resilience, innovative and forward-looking spirit continue to drive our success. Our employees and salesforce are contributing in us living up to our promise of Serving You, Serving the Nation by translating such mission and statement in concrete actions on the ground, and with underlying commitment, expertise, care and through our strong collaborative, ethical and organisational citizenship culture.
Building on the commendable progress we have made so far, I look forward to our future accomplishments in the years ahead. We will continue to unlock the power of our potential, allow new initiatives to scale up and continue to drive better value for our policyholders and other key stakeholders. Against this backdrop, NIC General is ready to manage the complex challenges of the future. The fast-changing operating environment brought new opportunities to the industry, value creation for our stakeholders and especially, a space that NIC General intends to embrace fully and optimise upon.
On this note, I graciously thank our Shareholder, the Hon. Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, the Permanent Secretary of the Parent Ministry, the Board of Directors, the Group Chairman, the NIC workforce, our channel partners and our valued clients for their unflinching support and trust in NIC.
Dr. Rishi O. Sookdawoor
Group Officer-in-Charge & COO